A Taste of Life
by starkiddos
Summary: DuncanxCourtney three-shot. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

A Taste of Life

Courtney, the preppy lawyer that she was, missed Duncan. Yes, Duncan the delinquent, Duncan the thief, Duncan. That was all she could think about. She hated her parents for not letting her see him. So she ran away. She came back one year later with her life back. Now she lived on her own. Duncan was behind bars, and the rest of her friends from TDI, well, she had no idea what they were doing now. But that was life. And somehow, Courtney was okay with that. Every new day brings a new change, and Courtney wasn't bothered by that fact.

Courtney was driving back to her apartment after a long day's work when her phone rang to the tune of "Get Back", by Demi Lovato. She rolled her eyes and digged in her Coach handbag for her Motorola. She flipped open the phone. "Umm, Helloo?"

"Hi, Princess." She recognized that voice. "Duncan!" "Yup. Wa'sup with you?" "I'm a lawyer, Duncan. I'm always busy doing cases and signing paperwork. And you? In jail?" "I'm, uh,…Yeah…I got out." "You broke out of jail?! Duncan!" she scolded him. "No, Princess!" he laughed. "They let me out. I did my time." "That's awesome!"

Courtney was practically jumping up and down in her seat by now! _This means I get to see him again!_ she thought, images of her and Duncan flowing through her head.

"Oh. My. GOD!!!" she screamed. Then Duncan heard a large crashing noise from the other end of the phone. Instantly he thought about Courtney. "Princess?! Courtney?! You okay?"

Courtney couldn't hear him. She was squished inside her little Honda between two semi trucks, blood streaming from her nose and mouth.

**To be continued…**

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	2. Chapter 2

Courtney was lying unconscious in a hospital bed between two pillows. All she could remember was this: hearing Duncan's voice on the phone, the crashing of her little Honda and the trucks, and then the faint whirring of the ambulance, coming to whisk her away to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Duncan was in the hospital waiting room, arguing with the secretary behind the ebony desk. "What do you mean, I can't go in?" he yelled. The secretary looked taken aback. "Sir," she started in a hushed tone, "she is doing too bad for visitors. You can't see her right now." "I have to! I have to see my Princess!" Duncan pushed past the desk and strolled into the main part of the hospital. He was looking for Courtney's room number painted on one of the wooden doors. Room 382. "Room 3-8...2! 382!" he cried, flinging himself at the door.

He went inside. Courtney was laying down in the white bed with wheels. Duncan sat himself in the cushioned chair beside the bed. He leaned over Courtney's still body, starting to stroke her silky brown hair. "Princess…" he whispered to her beautiful face. "I'm here for you."

Her eyes flickered, seeming to take in all the light. Then they opened. Courtney's tight lips curled into a smile. Her gentle brown gaze looked soft in her slightly tanned face.

"Dunc-"

Duncan cut her off. "You should sleep." He pulled her closer, and their lips met in the sweetest kiss.

With one last glance at Courtney, Duncan stood up and left, flashing Courtney a final smile.

And as he walked out of the hospital, Duncan knew that somehow, everything was going to be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay…I've decided to add another part to A Taste of Life, thanks to a certain reader's request. Here it is…You guys knew it was coming…the disclaimer.

I do not own the Total Drama series or any of the characters from said series. I probably won't be doing another part after this. Consider yourself warned.

_**xxxxxxxxxxx**_

It had been a month since Courtney and Duncan's last encounter, and Courtney was aching to see him again. The doctor finally released her from the crisp white prison, but her left arm and leg were to remain in casts for the following seven weeks. She took her first step outside the doors of the hospital in a month. At first, the frigid blast of autumn wind against her face felt odd, but she relaxed as a refreshing breeze took its place, blowing her mocha-colored hair behind her ear as her mother walked behind her, making sure Courtney didn't fall while using the crutches had been issued to her by the doctor. The trees were alive with vibrant, lush colors. Fresh shades of orange, red, brown, and yellow filled Courtney's vision. Her mother helped her into the car and Courtney pulled down the mirror on the passenger side to inspect the damage. There was a long, thin scar hovering directly above her plucked-to-perfection eyebrow where a shard of glass had found its way through her skin during the accident, and she self-consciously arranged her thick bangs to cover it as her mother climbed into the driver's seat beside her.

"Honey?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Do you need to stay with me and your father while you're still healing?"

"I'm good, Mom."

"Court-"

"Seriously, Mom. I can get dressed in the morning without you, okay? I can just call you if I need you to take me anywhere. Really."

Her mom sighed and reluctantly gave in as they pulled into the parking lot of Courtney's apartment building.

"Okay. I know, you're 21 now, Courtney, but… you were our only child. It's hard to see you grow up like this."

"It's okay, Mom. Thanks for coming and picking me up."

Her mother came and helped Courtney out of the passenger side of the 2007 Excursion and brought her up to her apartment on the second floor.

"I'm coming back to check on you at 6:00, alright?"

"Okay, 6 o'clock. I love you, Mom." Courtney let a dry, faint smile play on her lips as her mother started stepping back down the stairs towards the SUV.

"Love you too, honey. Be careful!"

"Got it."

Courtney watched as her mother's vehicle disappeared from the parking lot and out of her sight. She turned and staggered into her apartment, locking the door behind her. Her replacement phone, an iPhone 4G, vibrated suddenly. She picked it up with her right hand, ignoring the caller ID and pressing it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Courtney?" a deep, loving voice inquired.

"Duncan!" She fought hard to contain squeals of joy.

"So…you're out?" he ventured.

"Yep, and doing fine," she answered him, silently urging him to ask to come over.

"Hey…what would you think about me coming over and picking you up for dinner in a while?"

"Well…I mean, I guess. I'm not doing anything."

"Great. How 'bout I pick you up at 8:00, princess?"

"Sounds good, Duncan. See you then," she replied with a feigned calmness about her, holding in a sigh of relief that he couldn't see the million butterflies flipping circles in her stomach.

"Bye."  
"Bye, Duncan." She heard a click on the other side of the line and then the monotonous beeping. She pressed the end button and then started to dial her mother's number to tell her about the upcoming rendezvous. She only waited a few seconds before she heard her mother's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. I just wanted to let you know that Duncan's taking me out for dinner at 8:00, so you don't need to check up on me at 6:00. I'll be getting ready."

"Alright, honey. Call me when you get back to your apartment."

"'K. Bye."

"Love you, bye," her mother said. Courtney hung up the phone and headed to her closet. There was work to be done.

She strode into the enormous walk-in closet (quite unusual for an apartment) and surveyed her choices. Flirty white bubble dress…maybe. Skinny jeans and high heels…maybe. Long, elegant blue strapless number…definitely a maybe. Tight, skin-hugging turquoise mini…perfect. She slid into the flattering frock with difficulty, thanks to her broken arm and leg, and then moved on to her shoes. She decided to go with simple black flats, for fear of tripping and breaking another bone. Her makeup was simple: smoky, mysterious eyelids, but no eyeliner: quite a risk, and a light pink gloss for her lips. She took her hair from a messy bun it had been pulled into earlier and let it fall down her back; it looked fine as it was. She was ready.

She went into her small kitchen area and glanced at the clock on the microwave oven: 6:27 pm. She had time to sit down and relax in preparation before the date, and she was glad for it. She turned on her television to Judge Judy. Being the studious lawyer that she was, Courtney always had the desire to better herself through watching other's mistakes. By the time she had watched a few episodes, it was 7:56.

A few minutes later, a sharp knock interrupted a defendant's pathetic plea. She turned off the TV and opened the door.

Sure enough, there he was. His deep teal eyes were searching her gaze, glittering with mischief. She couldn't help but grin at the sight of him.

"Hey, Duncan."

Duncan took her into his arms, caressing her broken body and feeling the heat of her soft face pressed against his shoulder in the embrace. He pulled away reluctantly and looked into her irresistible, coffee-colored eyes. She could tell he was tearing up with the emotion of seeing her again.

"Are you ready to go, sweetheart?" he asked, taking her right hand in his left.

"If you are," she replied, taking in the deep scent of his tempting cologne.

He led her out to his truck and helped her into the passenger side.

"I missed you," he started comfortably.

"Where are we headed?" she asked him.

"I dunno, I thought I would leave it up to you," he answered as he put the vehicle into reverse and drove out of the parking lot.

"I'm okay with anything, as long as it's somewhat formal. You don't actually think I'd wear this type of thing to Taco Bell, do you?"

He laughed, his voice echoing off the enclosed space of the car like a wind chime.

"I guess you're right. Olive Garden?" he inquired, knowing that Courtney loved two things more than life itself: 1) doing her job right and 2) lasagna.

"If that's what you want," she told him, even venturing to place her head on his shoulder.

When they got to Olive Garden, the parking lot was surprisingly empty. Courtney and Duncan had no wait whatsoever, and they were seated at once. After a dinner of lasagna, fettuccini, and breadsticks, Duncan drove Courtney back home. The two sat parked in the truck for a while, laughing and talking about how much they'd missed each other.

"Duncan, thanks for tonight. I missed spending time with you."

"I love you, Courtney. I love you. Just so. Freaking. Much."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, letting an excited little squeak escape her glossy lips.

Duncan chuckled and leaned over a little, eyeing her reaction. She welcomed the offer and placed her lips straight on his. Duncan didn't seem to mind this contact at all. They sat like this for quite some time, giving each other a variation of short pecks and heartfelt, passionate kisses, when finally Courtney pulled away to check the time on her phone. 10:19. She had to go.

"Bye, Duncan. I'll call you tomorrow."

"I'll be waiting."

There was one final kiss exchanged between the two.

"I love you."

"Love you, too, Duncan." She smiled. He helped her out of the car. As she limped back up to her apartment, she looked back at the childish, delinquent, juvenile love of her life in the beaten up old truck and bit her lip to keep from screaming in delight. He was gorgeous, (street) smart, (criminally) talented, and hers. All hers.


End file.
